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Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore met with ex-Eagles tackle Jon Runyan yesterday, who told him that he is "strongly leaning" toward running.

But Gilmore, who said he had a "nice conversation" with Runyan, is not sold on him as the candidate to take on freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill). 

"This is nowhere near being over at this point," said Gilmore.  "As a professional football player there's some name recognition. On the other hand, we don't know much about his background.  He's never held elected office, never run for office.  We don't know how he would handle a situation and a campaign," said Gilmore. 

Gilmore is upfront about who his favorite potential candidate is: state Sen. Chris Connors (R-Lacey Twp), who already represents roughly half the congressional district in the legislature.  Connors could not be reached for comment, but he told the Asbury Park Press yesterday that he is "not likely" to run. 

If Runyan decides to run, he will likely to have the full support of the Republicans from Burlington County, which makes up a roughly equal portion of the congressional district as Ocean County.  But even if Connors is out of the picture, Gilmore thinks a number of other candidates deserve consideration, including Toms River Councilman Maurice Hill and former Virginia "Ginny" Haines, a former assemblywoman and state lottery commissioner.   

"I don't want those comments to be taken as being opposed to Runyan, because I'm not," said Gilmore.  "He's a candidate that brings certain attributes and we have other candidates that bring other attributes." 

Gilmore does not believe that the process is already spiraling towards a primary like in 2008, when the eventual nominee, Christopher Myers, had to spend half a million dollars that Republicans think could have been better spent against Adler in the general election.

But what if the two county parties are unable to agree on a candidate?

Getty Images Photos

Top Row: Jon Runyan, Brian Propp and Althea Gibson; Bottom Row: Bill Bradley, Al Leiter, and Phil McConkey

News of ex-Eagles tackle Jon Runyan's interest in running for Congress in the 3rd District brought about some excitement in Republican circles, but it was not universal. 

One South Jersey Republican, skeptical about celebrity candidates, kept his response to two words: Brian Propp.

Propp, who played fifteen seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, was recruited by state Sen. Diane Allen (R-Edgewater Park) to run for State Assembly in her district as a Republican in 2007.  Propp was a promising pick, but buzz about competing down-ticket in the heavily Democratic district fizzled out, and ultimately he and his running mate, Nancy Griffin, did not come close to unseating incumbents Herb Conaway (D-Delanco) and Jack Conners (D-Pennsauken). 

But Propp is only the latest example of professional athletes from the Garden State who ran for office.  While pro athletes who choose to run start out with name recognition that candidates from more traditional backgrounds typically have to spend years building up, their fame is by no means a ticket to a high office. 

In 1977, the late tennis great Althea Gibson - the first black woman to win a Grand Slam tournament - lost a state senate bid in a three-way primary against Frank Dodd  -- who was running on a slate with then-Assemblyman and now Senate President Richard Codey (D-Roseland) -- and then-Assemblyman Eldridge Hawkins. 

In 1990, former New York Giant Phil McConkey came in second in a three-way Republican primary for Congress, losing to Dick Zimmer but beating Rodney Frelinghuysen. 

There have also been flirtations, like when Republicans attempted to recruit Ronald "Jaws" Jaworski - who played with the Eagles in the 1970's and 80's - to run against Rob Andrews in the early 1990s.  And former Major League all-star pitcher Al Leiter's name repeatedly pop up as a potential candidate, even though the Toms River native currently lives in Florida.      

But there is one obvious success story: Bill Bradley, the New York Knick and Rhodes Scholar who became a three-term Democratic senator.

Ex-Eagles tackle John Runyan is meeting with Ocean County Republican Chairman George Gilmore at Gilmore's law office this morning to talk about a prospective run for office.

Runyan, a 35-year-old Mount Laurel resident who played with the Eagles from 2000 until 2008, is, in his own words, “seriously considering” challenging freshman U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) next November.  

Getting the go-ahead from Gilmore is crucial, since he presides over the dominant party in the county that produced the most Republican votes in the state in the gubernatorial race two weeks ago.  Gilmore and his fellow Republican county chairs from Burlington and Camden Counties – which make up Adler’s congressional district – have expressed a desire to avoid a costly primary like the one last year between then-Medford Mayor Chris Myers, Ocean County Freeholder Jack Kelly and former Tabernacle Committeeman Justin Murphy.

Reached by phone this morning, Gilmore said he would hold off on comment until after he has met with Runyan.

U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill) seems a little worried about the potential fundraising abilities of former NFL player Jon Runyan, who is exploring a bid to run against him for the third district congressional seat next year.  In an interview with Fox29 this morning, Adler said that the former Philadelphia Eagles star could “write a big check to help buy an election.”

“He could spend a lot of money. That would be a factor with elections,” Adler said.  “We’ve seen that in New Jersey in the past, Jon Corzine did it a couple of times.”

Sources say that Runyan has now reached out to the three Republican County Chairmen in the district to discuss his potential candidacy. 

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell Twp.)

PRINCETON - A week to the day after Congress passed a health care reform bill that she personally maneuvered through the lower house halls of power, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Saturday described the measure as a stimulus of economic and individual freedom.

"The public option creates dynamism in the economy," said Pelosi after touring the University Medical Center at Princeton with U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell Twp.). "We want to encourage self-employment. We want people to take risks, and the biggest anvil around our entrepreneurial spirit is the cost of healthcare. This is a liberator for people.

"The premiums pay for the benefits," added the Democratic Party leader.

Pelosi was scheduled to attend a fundraiser on Holt's behalf after touring the hospital facility.

Although Holt regularly dispatches of his Republican challengers every two years by, on average, 30-point margins, he said he never underestimates his opponents in a Democratic district dominated by independent voters.

A week to the day after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill, Speaker Nancy Pelosi tomorrow afternoon will join U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell Twp.) for a tour of the University Medical Center in Princeton.

Going into Election Year 2010, the outlook is hopeful for Republicans nationally.  The victories of Bob McDonnell and Chris Christie in Virginia and New Jersey respectively may well be a prelude to a sizable gain for Republicans in gubernatorial races nationally.  In the Senate races, Republicans will more than likely achieve a net gain at best of several seats.  In the House of Representatives, Republicans will be targeting those seats that traditionally had Republican representation but went Democratic for the first time in 2008.

WEST WINDSOR - At a town hall meeting tonight in front of a crowd of supporters, detractors and agitators, U.S. Rep. Rush Holt (D-Hopewell Twp.) defended his decision to vote in favor of healthcare reform legislation that Saturday passed in the House by a margin of 220-215. 

"The healthcare bill that passed requires standards of private employers, improves Medicare, and adds assistance healthcare coverage for almost all Americans," Holt, one of seven Democratic congressmen from New Jersey to vote in favor of the legislation, standing onstage in the Grover Middle School.

All five Republican congressmen from New Jersey voted against the bill, along with U.S. Rep. John Adler (D-Cherry Hill), the lone Democrat to cut from his party on the controversial bill.

"I'm very committed to a public option - a publicly administered government operated insurance policy - in addition to preserving an array of policies that currently exist," said Holt, who next year faces a challenge from GOP Fair Haven Mayor Mike Halfacre, who opposes a public option.

Former NFL star Jon Runyan has already fumbled: he put out a statement expressing his interest in running for Congress without first talking to the most powerful Republican in his district, Ocean County GOP Chairman George Gilmore.  Gilmore, a superstar since he delivered a 70,000-vote margin for Gov.-elect Christopher Christie last week, has reacted poorly to demonstrations of disrespect like this in the past.  In 2005, Gilmore gave GOP gubernatorial candidate Douglas Forrester a list of calls he needed to make to secure support in Ocean County.  To Gilmore's annoyance, Forrester never made most of the calls; Gilmore instead gave the Ocean County GOP line to Robert Schroeder, who diligently courted local Republicans.  Forrester won the primary, but never got Gilmore fully engaged; he won Ocean County by about a third of what Christie did.